6 Jan 2008 - Pew News

 

6th -10th January Mothers' Union "Wave of Prayer" week

SUNDAY 6th January 2008 Epiphany
Readings:- Isaiah 60:1-3 Matthew 2: 1-12
8.00 am Holy Communion Stamford Bridge
9.00 am Holy Communion Scrayingham
10.45 am All Age Worship Stamford Bridge

Wed 9th DCC meeting 3.00 pm Low Catton

SUNDAY 13th January 2008 Epiphany 2
Reading:- Luke 11: 1-13
8.00 am Holy Communion Stamford Bridge
9.00 am Holy Communion Low Catton
10.45 am Holy Communion with Sunday School Stamford Bridge

Wed 16th Pram Service 10.00 am Stamford Bridge
Fri 18th Free Spirits 4.00 pm Junior School

GROUP NEWS

FLOWERS IN CHURCH
Once again we thank the ladies who decorated the churches so beautifully for Christmas and also thank those who donated money towards the cost of the flowers. If you want to make a donation towards weekly flowers or for a special occasion, please see a churchwarden.

YOUTTH GROUP SAY THANK YOU
To all those who contributed their Tesco vouchers for Youth Group equipment, the leaders would like to send their thanks. The plea for the final vouchers did not fall on deaf ears; so the total required was met with some left over.

YORK COURSES LENT 2008
Looking forward to Lent 2008, York Courses, featuring contributions from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, are shortly to distribute their Lent course booklet on The Lord's Prayer. Based in York. York Courses produce courses specially designed for groups of Christians from different traditions to study together. The courses are used all over the world, helping people to share their experiences and understanding of the Christian faith. Details at: www.yorkcourses.co.uk

BIG BREW 2008
Next year's Big Brew is to be held during Fair Trade fortnight, instead of in July as in the past two years. We will therefore be asked to hold a Big Brew event between 25th February and 9th March 2008.
Big Brew gives Christians across North and East Yorkshire a way of changing public opinion, and of demonstrating that Christians are not only concerned about global poverty but mean to do something about it. A Big Brew event can be any event where Fair Trade goods are promoted e.g. tea parties, family fun mornings, football games, concerts...For churches already registered as a Fairtrade church (such as St John's), a Big Brew event can help fulfill our commitment to promote Fairtrade during Fairtrade fortnight.
The Synods of the Anglican Diocese of York and the Methodist York and Hull District resolved in April 2005 to aim to become registered for Fairtrade. To reach this status half of each denomination's churches must be registered with the Fairtrade Foundation. The number of Fair Trade churches in North and East Yorkshire rose from 18 in January 2006 to 200 in July 2007, which is a great start.

MOTHERS' UNION
Will members please note in their new 2008 diaries the date of our AGM which will be on 24th January in the King's Garth Community Room at 2.00 pm. The 2008 member's diary card will be available on that day. New members, as always, are welcome.

FAIRTRADE STALL
There will be no stall at the All Age Service this Sunday. The next one will be on Sunday 3rd February. If there is anything urgently required, please speak to Joanne or Irene.

BITS & BOBS
PICTURING THE BIBLE
THE EARLIEST CHRISTIAN ART
An Exhibition in the Kimbell Art Museum,
Sally & Mandy Powers
During our holiday in Fort Worth (U.S.A.) we visited a very special exhibition in the Kimbell Art Museum. It was called the Christianity Exhibition. It had taken five years to plan and organise all the artefacts, carvings, sculptures, ornaments and treasured jewellery from different museums around the world. Having paid our entry fee we were given digital machines with pre-recorded commentaries on all the items on show. To list them all would take too long but here are a few of the things that we did see. There was a series of four plaques depicting seven scenes from the life and death of Jesus. One of the most striking panels was of the suicide of Judas with his bag of silver at his feet. There were lots of stone sarcophaguses, ivory plaques and wooden carvings the details of which were truly wonderful to see. We saw a marble sculpture of Jonah being swallowed by a whale and another of him emerging from the whale. We learnt that the early Christian stories were used from the Old Testament; they captivated the audiences and served to illustrate the personal salvation through God. Jonah was seen as a symbol of baptism and resurrection. Jonah became the most common image for Christians on the 3rd and 4th centuries. On loan from the Vatican was a beautiful 6th century silver cross inlaid with gemstones, a gift to the city of Rome from the Byzantine Emperor Justin II and his wife, Sophia. There were also fragments from an early Bible and a complete page from the Rubbula Gospels found in Syria. We learnt the early Christians were often persecuted and it was in their best interests not to draw attention to themselves. So we learnt that, when Christians died, the fish and anchor symbol was used on their tombstones to indicate this was a Christian grave. The fish symbol was used in the early 2nd century on catacomb frescoes and tombstones and the cross was not used until the Roman Emperor Constantine embraced Christianity in the 3rd century. Visiting this exhibition gave us a clear understanding of how the early Christian religion took shape.

ORGAN DONATION,
A CHRISTIAN DUTY
Giving oneself and one's possessions voluntarily for the well being of others and without compulsion is a Christian duty of which organ donation is a striking example, the Church of England has told the House of Lords. The Church's Mission and Public Affairs Division was responding to the Lords' EU Social Policy and Consumer Affairs sub-committee's inquiry into the EU Commission's Communication on organ donation and transplantation: policy actions at EU level.
"Christians have a mandate to heal, motivated by compassion, mercy, knowledge and ability," the response says. "The Christian tradition both affirms the God-given value of human bodily life, and the principle of putting the needs of others before one's own needs."
The response repeats the Church's opposition to selling organs for commercial gain, while accepting organs being freely given by living donors, with no commercial gain. It argues that, if the present opt-in system of organ donation is to continue, it will need to be backed by a properly resourced programme of public awareness-building and education.
Whether organ donation should be arranged through an "opt-in" or an "opt out" system is not a question on which Christians hold a single set of views, the response explains. The opt-in system, where people sign up to be donors if they die, reflects Christian concern to celebrate and support gracious gifts, freely given. An opt-out approach, where people state that they do not wish to donate organs, could stress the Christian concern for human solidarity and living sacrificially for others'.
The response goes on to say: "The undoubted need for more organs to be donated for the healing of others has to be weighed against the changed relationship between persons and the State which moving to an opt-out system could entail." Either way, all EU member states would need to adopt the same opt out or opt in approach to consent for organ donation, it argues.

CHURCH CHALLENGED TO USE NEW OPPORTUNITIES PRESENTED BY
INFANT AND ADULT BAPTISM
The place of baptism in the life of the nation and the Church has changed significantly in the last century, a new book from the Church of England has found.
In 2Connecting with Baptism", experienced Church ministers explore the most recent statistics and research into the role of baptism in the Church, revealing:
* Significantly more infant baptisms as a proportion of births take place in rural dioceses such as Carlisle, Hereford and Lincoln than in urban areas
* Fewer than 20 per cent of infants under one year old are baptised today compared to 65 per cent in 1900, while the numbers of older children and adults getting baptised has risen from 11,000 in 1900 to 46,200 in 2004
* The families bringing their children for baptism today represent a significant section of society with a past Church connection, open to the Church's message and the idea of getting involved again - and churches are developing effective ways of capturing and nurturing this interest
* For some families today, the baptism of a child represents an opportunity for the first public acknowledgement of the parents' relationship, and churches can use this as an opportunity to promote marriage.
This practical book blends accessible explanation of the Church's policy on baptism and the theology underpinning it with close attention to the details of preparation, planning, choreographing and following-up of baptisms for infants, children and adults. It covers topics including the role of godparents; helping those who are baptised to grow in faith; and Christian initiation in fresh expressions of Church.
"Connecting with Baptism - A practical guide to Christian initiation today", £14.99

WISDOM OF SOLOMON
Sunday School teacher:
"Why was Solomon the wisest man in the world?"
Little girl:
"Because he had so many wives to advise him."

POEM FOR THE MONTH

Made flesh, made poetry, made art,
The little child was born for this.
His mother held him to her heart
And touched his brow with her warm kiss,
Underneath a bursting star
This God-Child came to us from far.

And every Christmas once again
He?s born afresh and needs our care.
He is all hope yet knows of pain
For on a cross he?ll suffer where
We mock and hurt. Now he forgives
Us for all that. For that he lives.

But though the heart of mystery
Is his own right, he understands
Our simple hearts. In history
He comes with little helpless hands
But all who choose will be saved by
Means of a child who has to lie

Shivering, he clings fast to
A virgin's breast, finds comfort there.
All stars are his, all wisdom too
But for our sake he comes down here
And we wait for his little hand
That all the world may understand.

Carol for 1997 by Elizabeth Jennings